Silversea Founder Antonio Lefebvre d'Ovidio Dies at Age 98

Silversea Cruises told Travel Agent, "it is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Antonio Lefebvre d'Ovidio, the founder of Silversea Cruises, who passed away on February 5, 2011."

Antonio Lefebvre was born in 1913 and was a maritime lawyer and professor before acquiring cargo ships and ferries in the Adriatic. He later owned Sitmar Cruises, which was merged with Princess Cruises in 1988.

At the beginning of the 1990s, Lefebvre had a vision for a new type of cruise line — an ultra-luxury, six-star cruising experience that combined innovation, romance and passion. That morphed into the founding of Silversea.

His son, Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio, is now chairman of Silversea Cruises Group and the European Cruise Council.